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Xhosa
Linguistics of Xhosa https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xhosa_language#Consonants :"Xhosa is rich in uncommon consonants. Besides pulmonic egressive sounds, which are found in all spoken languages, it has '18 clicks' (in comparison, Juǀ'hoan, spoken by roughly 10,000 people in Botswana and Namibia, has '48 clicks', and Taa, with roughly 4,000 speakers in Botswana, has '83 click sounds', the largest consonant inventory of any known language). Also, Xhosa has ejectives and an implosive. Although 15 of the clicks also occur in Zulu, they are used less frequently than in Xhosa." :"The first six are dental clicks (represented by the letter "c"), made with the tongue on the back of the teeth, and they are similar to the sound represented in English by "tut-tut" or "tsk-tsk" to reprimand someone. The next six are lateral (represented by the letter "x"), made by the tongue at the sides of the mouth, and they are similar to the sound used to call horses. The last six are alveolar (represented by the letter "q"), made with the tip of the tongue at the roof of the mouth, and they sound somewhat like a cork pulled from a bottle." http://aboutworldlanguages.com/xhosa :"Xhosa (isiXhosa) is the southernmost member of the Bantoid group of the Niger-Congo language family in Africa. It is closely related to Zulu, Swati, and Ndebele. Although mutually intelligible, they are considered to be separate languages for political and cultural reasons. (TW: racial slur) :The Xhosa, formerly called Kaffir or Kafir (Arabic for ‘infidel’), are a cluster of related peoples who have inhabited Eastern Cape Province and Transkei, South Africa, since before the 16th century. They are thought to have migrated to this region along the east coast of Africa and through central Africa. In southern Africa, they came into contact with Khoisan-speaking people. As a result of this contact, the Xhosa people borrowed some Khoisan words along with their pronunciation, for instance, the click sounds of the Khoisan languages." :"Xhosa has several dialects, including Mpondo (Pondo), Xesibe, Bomwana, Gaika, Gcaleka, Thembu, Mpondomise, Ndlambe (Ethnologue). Ngqika is considered to be the standard variety." :"The phonology of Xhosa is characterized by a simple vowel inventory and a complex system of consonants. Most syllables end in a vowel, and there are no consonant clusters." Bantu Language Group https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bantu_peoples "In the 1920s, relatively liberal South Africans, missionaries, and the small black intelligentsia began to use the term "Bantu" in preference to "Native" and more derogatory terms (such as "Kaffir") to refer collectively to Bantu-speaking South Africans. After World War II, the National Party governments adopted that usage officially, while the growing African nationalist movement and its liberal allies turned to the term "African" instead, so that "Bantu" became identified with the policies of apartheid. By the 1970s this so discredited "Bantu" as an ethno-racial designation that the apartheid government switched to the term "Black" in its official racial categorizations, restricting it to Bantu-speaking Africans, at about the same time that the Black Consciousness Movement led by Steve Biko and others were defining "Black" to mean all racially oppressed South Africans (Africans, Coloureds, and Indians)." Linguistics https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Niger%E2%80%93Congo_languages https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bantu_languages Linguistic classification: Niger–Congo * Atlantic–Congo ** Benue–Congo *** Southern Bantoid **** Bantu Bantu. Apps http://languageapps.org/xhosa.php https://freelanguage.org/learn-xhosa/free-xhosa-language-exchange-app-make-friends-learn-xhosa http://www.learnxhosa.co.za/ (called "Ubuntu Bridge" but created by a yt developer, and charges money for videos after the first 3 free ones, doesn't seem like a great app and seems like just a cash cow) The Lord's Prayer https://www.lonweb.org/ourfather/pn-zulu-ing.htm "uBawo Wethu oseZulwini" "uBawo Wethu oseZulwini Maliphathwe ngobungcwele igama lakho. Umbuso wakho mawufike. Intando yakho mayenziwe emhlabeni njengasezulwini. Awusiphe namhla isinkwa sethu semihla ngemihla. Usithethelele izono zethu njengoba nathi sibathethelela abasonayo. Ungasingenisi ekulingweni kodwa usisindise kokubi. Amen." Category:Africa Category:Linguistics Category:Indigenous Culture Category:Black Culture